


Headache

by CrypticGabriel



Series: Sheith Month 2018 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: #SheithMonth2018, Bonding, Grounding, M/M, Mental Health Issues, Positive Reassurance, Post Season 6, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-blaming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 14:48:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15145484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrypticGabriel/pseuds/CrypticGabriel
Summary: Keith helps Shiro feel more grounded and secure on a bad mental health day.For Sheith Month. Prompt 2 - Training // Headache





	Headache

_Shiro’s hurting._

_It happens sometimes. He’ll_ just wake up one day, even if he’s been okay for a while, and all of his progress seems to fade away. And on these days, it seems like his entire body just _hates_ him, especially when he wakes up right away with headaches. Those are surprisingly frequent.

It reminds him of the terrible state that he always was in whenever he was being controlled by Haggar, or whenever he had difficulties remembering what was going on or what had been happening before he felt the pains in his head. He normally tries anything to relieve the trauma and the pain, but with his skills currently being so limited with only one arm, he can’t do _everything_ he’d usually do.

So, he does what he can. He starts by going a jog, thinking that being around a more familiar environment will help. It does, for a little while, but when the natural high starts to wear off, he heads back the way he came. It doesn’t help that he forgot to bring water with him, and his head begins to pound harder. The hammering in his mind reminds him of the talons that had it in his grip, and for a fleeting moment, he’s worried about blacking out.

“Shiro?”

He’s startled at hearing Keith’s voice, stumbling to a halt. He has to regain his composure, and he clears his throat. “Hey. Just thought I’d take a jog.”

As much as he hopes his excuse will work, he knows that Keith is not buying it. “Shiro, why don’t we grab some drinks? It’s dangerous to take runs like that without being hydrated.”

“I _live_ for danger.” It’s meant to be an edgy joke, but his voice just sounds so defeated.

He quirks a brow. “C’mon. There’s a store not that far away from here. Let’s get some water.”

“Yeah, I don’t see why not…” He already starts to walk ahead of him. He can’t look directly at Keith’s face when he’s like this. His eyes immediately are drawn to the long scar on his cheek. No matter how many times Keith says he forgives him for what he’s done, he’ll never believe him.

There’s a lot of pressure, and he does his best to repress it all. He can only hold off his frustrations for so long. There’s no way to tell when exactly he’ll burst.

“Shiro?” Keith saying his name again helps him drift away from his mind’s unhealthy wandering. “Take a look down the road. Do you see the shop yet?”

He frowns and squints, forcing himself to concentrate. “Not yet. At least we’re away from the outskirts. The heat’s killing me.”

“That’s what you get for not bringing your canteen,” Keith chuckles, reaching down to take hold of his hand. “It’s quiet out here. Isn’t it?”

“It’s still early.” For a brief moment, he stares up at the endless sky above him. “I already miss being up there. I feel like I’ve only helped save the universe for a minute.”

“No…” He gently squeezes his hand. “Everything you’ve done will help the universe in the long term.”

With that, Shiro looks over at Keith. “But I haven’t even done anything good. And I…” He trails off, his eyes immediately drawn to the scar again. “If anything, what I’ve done involves problems you guys needed to fix.”

“Eyes, Shiro,” he gently scolds, like he’s catching on where Shiro’s glancing. But the reminder does work, somewhat. He turns his attention back to giving him eye contact. “It’s just the heat talking. You don’t give yourself enough credit.”

“That sounds familiar,” he grumbles while the two of them walk together.

“It should.” Keith’s hand begins to linger down, his fingers brushing against Shiro’s. It takes him a few moments to register the gesture, and he carefully intertwined them with Keith’s. “There it is.”

Shiro looks up at the convenience store, and the relief of the air conditioning inside makes him shiver. He walks slowly, with Keith leading the way to the refrigerated area to grab water bottles.

“Think a little higher of yourself, Shiro.” Keith breaks the silence and hands him the water after they’ve purchased them. When Shiro looks down at it he realizes that it has a cap he can easily pop open, a little relaxed at that. And Keith continues. “We wouldn’t have been able to get this close to bringing peace to the rest of the universe without you. We wouldn’t be where we are today. The other Paladins, Coran, the entire _universe…_ Me.”

There’s a light blush on his cheek, but his brows still furrow. “I want to think that, but… then I remember I’ve tried to destroy everything we worked for. I’ve hurt the people I love. I tried to kill you.”

The latter is an extra punch. Keith frowns at that. “But that _wasn’t_ you. And even if it was, I’d still forgive you.” He still has a gentle hold of his wrist. “I love you.”

As the sun sets on their walk home, they stop along a plateau looking over their shack. Shiro has long since finished his water bottle but still holds it in his one hand. It doesn’t bother him too terribly that he can’t hold Keith’s hand in that moment. His presence is enough to ease that ache. And other aches are mended, as well.

“So, how’s your head?”

Keith’s voice cuts in during his train of thought. They are good thoughts, though. Positive reassurance helps keep his fears at bay, even the fears that he has been forced to experience so that no one will ever have to. Or ever should. But when he thinks about the past now while looking into Keith’s eyes, he finds that he still feels calm. Keith’s love for him is always something that gives him hope for the future, even on his most turbulent days.

Instead of giving him a verbal answer at first, he leans close and presses his forehead to his. They share a careful kiss, slow and sweet as the natural light that warms their skin gradual wanes from view.

Their smiles are so contagious, and as they break away, Shiro just spends a little longer looking into Keith’s eyes. “It feels much better.”

**Author's Note:**

> [tumblr](http://tiff-the-little-wanderer.tumblr.com)   
>  [twitter](http://twitter.com/wandering_tiff)


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